Shell or projectile of the armor-piercing type



Patented June 29, 1926.

UNITED STATES DALE C. HALL, OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY.

SHELL 0R PBOJECTILE OF THE ARMOR-PIERCING TYPE.

Application filed October 13, 1920. Serial No. 416,754.

(GRANTED UNDER THE ACT 0'1? MARCH 3, 1883; 22 STAT. L. 625.)

The invention described herein may be used by the Government, or any of its oflicers or employees in prosecution of work for the Government, or by any other person in the United States, without payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to shells or projectiles of the armorpiercing type, and has more specific reference to a base attachment for such shells.

When a shell impinges upon heavy armor, striking the armor at an acute angle thereto, a whip or sidewise throw of the shell results, causing the side at the base of the shell to be brought into violent contact with the armor, which results in a distortion of the base edge of the shell at the location of contact setting up stresses or strains in the shell body, usually resulting in a rupture extending through the side wall of the shell adjacent the base of the shell cavity thus destroying the effectiveness of the shell and preventing its proper functioning.

In order to overcome this injury to a shell, I have found that the provision of an attachment to the shell which will receive the blow upon whipping of the shell and. which is so lightly attached to the shell as to be stripped therefrom upon contact is efiicient.

With these and other objects in view which will hereinafter more fully appear, the invention resides in the novel arrangement and combination of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spiritof the invention.

Practicable embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherein Figure 1 is a fragmentary view in longitudinal section of a shell constructed in accordance with the invention; and

Fi ure 2 is a similar view showing a modi cation of the attachment Referring to the drawing by numerals of reference, a shell body is indicated by the numeral 1 provided with the usual cavity 2, and closed at the base by an ordinary base plug 3.

The shell is reduced for a suitable distance at its base and threaded to provide the exterior threads t adapted for engagement with th threads formed interiorly of an attachment 5 herein shown as an annular extension having a tapered portion 6 to provide a boat-tail base.

In the modification shown in Figure 2, the shell is similar to'thatshown in Figure 1 but the attachment in this instance has a boss or plug 4- adapted to screw into the base plug 3, which boss is formed on the head or plate 5' of the attachment.

A tapered annular flang 6 is herein shown as formed on the head 5' though itv will be readily understood that the same may be secured thereto by welding or otherwise, if desired.

In practice, when the shell strikes a plate of armor at an angle and whips, the attachment 5 or 5', as the case may be, is brought into contact with the armor, taking up a large portion of the force of the impact, which force is sufficient to strip the threads and detach the base attachment. The threads are of course so designed that the force necessary to strip them will not be sufficient to strain the shell body to an extent where rupture or injury will result.

lVhile I have described and shown the attachment as secured to the shell by threading, it is to be understood that any of the well known methods of attaching such parts together may be made use of.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 2- A shell, embodying a shell body, and a base connected to the body by threading, the resistance of the thread to strain being less than that of the body of the shell.

DALE G. HALLi 

